A Duel Between Brothers
by KingWykkyd57
Summary: As Corrin faces off against Ryoma, Kaze finds himself confronted by the last person he wants to fight. But with his brother, Saizo, aiming to spill blood, Kaze will either have to slay his own brother, or die trying.


**I think a lot of us were disappointed by the lack of special dialogue between Kaze and Saizo in Conquest chapter twenty five, so I made this thing. Enjoy!**

 **...**

"Kaze."

The green haired ninja stiffened as he heard his name coming from the familiar voice. Turning around, his heart nearly stopped when he saw his own brother glaring daggers at him, his shuriken barely poking out from his sleeves. The look in Saizo's eyes held not any sort of love or respect, only showing anger and dare he say it, hatred.

Kaze took a deep breath and faced his brother fully, as calmly as he possibly could. "Saizo." he greeted, giving a small nod.

The older twin scoffed, and he began circling the other. Kaze forced himself to keep calm, and he copied his brother's movements. Two sets of eyes locked onto each other, neither daring to break contact. "Do not speak my name, traitor," Saizo growled, narrowing his one good eye dangerously. "I gave you a chance once before to learn the error of your ways, and yet you still refuse to admit your mistakes. You still continue to blindly serve that Nohrian scum."

"It is you who is mistaken, Saizo," Kaze retorted. "Lord Corrin is no traitor, the path he's chosen is perhaps the most noble I have ever witnessed. If only you could see past your own blind anger."

Suddenly, a single shuriken flicked out from Saizo's palm, and Kaze barely tilted his head out of the way. The cold steel scratched against his cheek, leaving a fine cut that oozed out a single drop of blood. The small weapon made contact with a wall, where it stuck. Kaze made the brief mistake of taking a glance at it, and that's when Saizo charged.

With a roar, Saizo lashed out with a devastating kick, catching Kaze in the gut and sending him flying across the room. The younger twin groaned in pain, and rolled out of the way just in time to avoid another kick. He was then forced back once more as Saizo threw shuriken after shuriken towards him. Kaze barely dodged them all, one slipping right past his throat. He blocked a punch thrown by Saizo, and ducked down to sweep his brother's legs out from other him. Saizo fell to the ground, before kicking himself back up.

The two brothers stared each other down, their breathing heavy. Finally, Saizo made another move, seemingly vanishing into thin air. However, Kaze knew better. He waited, and soon he heard the sound of Saizo appearing right above him. Dodging just in time to avoid another shuriken, he then pulled out his own and threw it at Saizo with a flick of his wrist.

The weapon stabbed through Saizo's shoulder, causing him to grunt in pain. Gritting his teeth, he yanked the shuriken out before dropping it onto the floor.

"You will regret that, traitor." he hissed.

"Saizo, please!" Kaze suddenly begged, gritting his teeth. "Just listen to me for once! I am not your enemy, I don't wish to fight you! Everything Lord Corrin and I have been doing is for the greater good! Look past your own biased hatred for Nohr and lay down your weapon."

Saizo was silent for a moment, before he slowly opened his blind eye. It sent a shiver down Kaze's spine, seeing that senseless look in the milky white. "Do you really wish not to fight?" he asked, and Kaze nodded.

"Brother, you must believe me," Kaze insisted. "We don't have to fight anymore!"

Saizo's answer was a swift punch to the face, which Kaze grabbed. He shoved his older brother away and brought out his weapons on instinct.

"You should've thought of that before betraying Hoshido," said Saizo as he once again began circling around Kaze. "As we speak, our masters, brothers just like us, are fighting to the death to determine the fate of our kingdom. I believe in Lord Ryoma, as I always have."

"And I believe in Lord Corrin," Kaze replied.

"So it comes down to this," Saizo growled, tightening his fist. "Nohr vs Hoshido, brother vs brother. Only one can win, traitor." He stopped circling the younger twin. "And it _will_ be Hoshido!"

Suddenly, the shuriken he held in his hands were engulfed in flames, and he charged towards his brother with every intent to kill. "And if I must slay my own brother to ensure Hoshido's survival, _then so be it!"_

Kaze blocked the attack with his own shuriken, flip-kicking Saizo to make some room between them. He felt sweat trickle down his forehead, and his breath grow more unsteady. He knew what he would have to do. His brother wanted nothing more than to kill him. And if Kaze wanted to survive this encounter, he would have to kill Saizo. It would be a true duel to the death between brothers, mirroring the one happening behind the locked doors behind Saizo.

He prayed that Corrin would be safe.

He thought of his wife and child as he dodged another one of Saizo's blows. He prayed for their safety too. He prayed that in case he died, his brother would at least have the mercy to spare them.

He ducked as Saizo threw his flame shuriken, sliding down on his knees as he threw his own at the high prince's retainer. Saizo deflected them both, and just then the walls _lit on fire._

Kaze shouldn't have been surprised, considering Saizo's mastery of explosives. But the sudden heat that surrounded him momentarily threw him off guard, and Saizo took that as his chance to attack. He delivered decisive blows, hitting Kaze's every weak spot with hard palm thrusts. Kaze brought his arms off to defend, but Saizo's knee then drove itself into his stomach, causing him to double over and drop to the floor. Saizo then kicked his brother's head, before dragging him up and throwing his as hard as he could.

Kaze felt flames engulf his clothing as he crashed through a burning wall, and he quickly rolled around to extinguish them. He was momentarily thankful for Saizo's anger, as the older twin's roars alerted him of his presence. Rolling out of the way of a flame shuriken's path, he drew out a knife and readied himself for the next attack.

Saizo emerged from the flames, unaffected by them as he stared his brother down. "I promise I'll make this quick, _brother,"_ he said, practically spitting out the last word.

Kaze narrowed his eyes and took a deep breath, before dashing towards Saizo with blinding speed. He attempted to jab the knife into Saizo's throat, but the older twin caught it and countered with a headbutt to Kaze's nose. The green haired ninja reeled back, and Saizo brought his knee up to his jaw. Kaze flew up into the air before landing roughly on his back, hissing with pain.

He brought his hands up to block a kick from Saizo, and lashed out with his own that caught the older ninja's knee. Then, he threw his knife forward, and it stabbed through Saizo's stomach. The red haired ninja gasped before stepping back. Then to Kaze's shock, he casually ripped it out like it was nothing. Saizo stared at the bloody knife for a second, before stabbing it through Kaze's thigh, causing the younger ninja to half-scream in pain.

Saizo rolled his eye and lifted Kaze up by the collar of his top. "Is that truly it?" he wondered. "I was hoping for a bit more of a challenge, traitor."

Then...

"Father?" a small voice called out. "Father, where are you?!"

Kaze froze, his eyes wide with fear as he watched the figure appear into view. No, no, no! It couldn't be! She was supposed to stay with her mother!

And there the girl was, the splitting image of her mother. The same brown hair and the same adorable face. Although this time, it was filled with fear instead of its usual joy. He locked eyes with his daughter, and she gasped and took a step back out of fright as she observed the scene before her. "F-Father..?" she whimpered, lower lip quivering.

"Midori..!" Kaze cried out. "Get away from here, now!" The girl didn't listen, her trembling legs refused to run. "Midori, please!"

"A little girl?" Saizo questioned. "The Nohrians now let mere children join their ranks? What a joke. Pigs, all of them." He narrowed his eyes at the girl. "Run," he ordered. "I don't like the sound of killing an innocent child, but I will if you refuse to back away now."

"B-But..." The girl's big eyes glanced at the two ninjas, and a few tears leaked out. "B-But you're h-hurting Father..."

"Midori, please run..." Kaze begged.

"Father?" Saizo turned to face his brother. "The girl is yours?" He then scoffed. "You've truly lost your way, traitor, allowing your own daughter to fight a war." He then turned back to Midori. "This is your last chance," he warned her. "Leave or I _will_ hurt you."

"I..." The girl glanced at her father, who had eyes that begged her to run. Then, the girl narrowed hers, and she shook her head. "I won't!" she declared.

"Hm?" Saizo raised an eyebrow in surprised.

"I said... I. won't. Run!" In a flash, the young girl drew back an arrow and let it fly. However, Saizo dodged it easily, and in a second he had the girl pinned down with one foot.

"I tried to warn you," he said as the girl struggled. He pulled out a shuriken and aimed it at her head. "I'll make this quick..."

Kaze watched in horror as his own brother was preparing to kill his daughter. Realizing he had to save her, he glanced down at the knife stuck in his leg, and with a pained groan he pulled it out. He then glared at his brother's back, and with all his strength he threw it.

With a sickening noise, it pierced Saizo's back, earning a pained gasp from the older ninja. He fell onto his knees, and Kaze took this chance to leap onto the older twin, taking the knife out. He punched Saizo square in the nose, his fury building up.

"NO ONE TOUCHES MY DAUGHTER!" he roared as he continued to unleash his wrath on his weakened brother. Saizo could only groan and let out hoarse whispers as he continued to be beaten. Finally, in a last fit of rage, Kaze raised the knife high above his head and sent it right through Saizo's heart.

It was right then he snapped out of it, and all he could do was watch in horror as his brother slowly died before him.

"K-Kaze..." Saizo whispered. "I-I-"

"Saizo..." Kaze breathed as he took a hold of his brother's hand. "I'm sorry! I-I didn't want to-"

"Please...!" Saizo croaked. "Please...keep Hoshido...safe..."

"I will!" Kaze promised. "I swear to you, I will!"

Saizo smiled underneath his mask. "Good..." he said, the last of his life beginning to slip away. "I-I'm sorry too...I..was wrong... I-I see it now, in your...eyes...You w-were doing this...for the greater good...I-I w-wish I could've seen it...sooner..." With those final words, Saizo closed his eyes and died.

Kaze stared in shock, and he didn't realize he was crying until his tears dropped onto Saizo's face. "S-Sazio..." he sobbed, before he felt two small arms themselves around him.

"Father...?" Midori asked hesitantly, her face full of worry.

Kaze took a shaky breath before turning around and hugging his daughter. "Shhh... It's okay, Midori," he soothed. "Everything will be fine... I'm just glad you're safe..."

"W-Who was that man?"

Kaze frowned. "I..." he struggled, before sighing. "I'll tell you later... Where's your mother?"

"She had just defeated the other ninja, the girl," Midori explained.

'Kagero too...' Kaze realized. "Go find her," he ordered gently. "Your father needs some alone time for a few minutes."

Midori nodded, before running off in search of her mother.

Kaze turned back to Saizo's body, and gently took the older ninja's cold hand in his warm one. "Saizo..." he murmured as he squeezed his brother's hand. "I never wanted this to happen, and I wish things could've ended differently." He took a deep breath. "But I swear, I won't let your death be meaningless. Even though I side with Nohr, I will find a way to save Hoshido. I swear upon your grave, my brother..."

And with those words said, Kaze stood up, turned around, and walked away to find his family.


End file.
